BTS wins Song of the Year at 2026 MTV VMAs
Members of K-pop boy band BTS perform during iHeartRadio Music Festival at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., Sept. 18. Reuters-Yonhap
BLACKPINK's Lisa becomes 1st Asian solo artist to win Best Pop
K-pop juggernaut BTS won Song of the Year for "SWIM" at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in the United States, Sunday (local time). The win adds to a banner comeback year for the septet, which reunited as a full group in March after a nearly four-year hiatus.
BTS, which did not attend the ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, also won Best K-Pop and Best Group, sweeping all three categories for which it was nominated. The Best Group trophy is its fifth, following four straight wins from 2019 to 2022, making BTS the most-awarded act in the category's history.
"We sincerely thank ARMY (the group's official fandom) for always giving us your unwavering love and support," the group said in a statement released through its agency, BigHit Music. "'ARIRANG' feels like a new beginning for us, which makes this award all the more meaningful," it said, referring to its fifth studio album "ARIRANG."
The members credited the Song of the Year win to everyone who has loved their music, adding that all seven members would continue to deliver great music and performances together.
"SWIM," the lead single from the album, beat out a field that included Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter's "Bring Your Love," RAYE's "WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!," Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" and Huntrix's "Golden" from the Netflix animated film "KPop Demon Hunters."
Released in March, the song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated April 4 and reached No. 2 on the U.K.'s Official Singles Chart. It also topped Spotify's Daily Top Songs Global chart for 25 consecutive days, from March 20 to April 13.
BTS is the second Asian act to win Song of the Year, after BLACKPINK's Rosé won last year for "APT." with Bruno Mars.
Lisa of girl group BLACKPINK accepts the award for Best Pop for "Dream" during the MTV Video Music Awards at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, Calif., Sunday (local time). AP-Yonhap
Asian artists continue to make history at the VMAs, with BLACKPINK's Lisa becoming the first Asian solo artist to win Best Pop. She took the award for "Dream," a short film of which featured Japanese actor Kentaro Sakaguchi, beating out Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande.
BTS has collected more than a dozen VMA trophies since its first nomination in 2019, including Best Choreography and Song of the Summer. In 2020, it became the first Asian act to win Best Pop, with "ON."
The VMA sweep comes about two months after BTS declined to submit its work in any category for the 69th Grammy Awards in 2027. The group's decision followed the Recording Academy's announcement in June of a new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category, which drew criticism for separating Asian acts from the ceremony's General Field awards.
BTS will kick off the South American leg of its "BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG'" in Bogota, Colombia, on Friday. It will then perform in Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo, for a total of 14 shows in five cities.